tragic figure
Hero destined downfall
A tragic figure is a person whose downfall or suffering evokes pity and sorrow.
The term originates in drama, where a protagonist's flaws or circumstances lead to their ruin: Hamlet is literature's quintessential tragic figure.
It extends to real people whose lives ended badly despite—or because of—their gifts: She was a tragic figure, brilliant but self-destructive.
The phrase implies someone worthy of sympathy rather than contempt.
- hubrisRuinous excessive confidence
- pride before fallArrogance preceding downfall
- sufferingSustained experience of distress
- downfallSudden loss of power
- brought lowDefeated and diminished
Anna Karenina · Medea · Antigone · fate · Hamlet · hamartia · despair · fatal flaw · catharsis · King Lear · Cassandra · human frailty · martyr · sacrifice · Macbeth · inevitability · noble suffering · Oedipus Rex
- Cassandraprophetess, seer, Troy, unheeded, warnings
- Perseus mythPerseus, Andromeda, Medusa, Pegasus, Gorgon
- Prometheus arttorch bearer, fire bringer
tragic figurevillain
Wicked story antagonist
antagonist · monster · tyrant · oppressor · evildoer
tragic figuresuccess story
Narrative of achievement
victor · winner · hero · self-made success · happy ending
tragic figurecomedic character
Amusing role in stories
clown · buffoon · fool · comic relief · jester